Pediatric palliative care uses a variety of therapies and activities to relieve pain and enhance the quality of life for children with severe, life-threatening or life-limiting conditions.

A Child Life specialist is trained to understand the different ways children deal with stress, fear, confusion, anger, guilt, and sadness — and help them develop coping strategies specific to their needs. She also provides information, support, and guidance to parents, siblings, and other family members.

Tara Monroe is the dedicated Child Life Specialist in Palliative Care, a position made possible by the generosity of Kids with Confidence. Tara earned her bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies from Penn State University. She has served as a certified Child Life specialist for more than five years, in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and then in the duPont Hospital’s PICU and cardiac intensive care unit for the past year. Tara also served as a bereavement camp counselor for the Moyer Foundation’s Camp Erin in Philadelphia.

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"We are delighted to bring the funds necessary to offer this important service to children and families at a time when they are most vulnerable. Sometimes, the siblings of sick children feel the burden of their own grief and their parents’ grief but hold it in because the family has already gone through so much. Having Tara to counsel, support and listen to them will help lift that weight and allow children to express their sorrow and range of emotions in ways that promote healing."

Established as The Nemours Foundation through the legacy and philanthropy of Alfred I. duPont, Nemours offers pediatric clinical care, research, education, advocacy and prevention programs to all families in the communities it serves.

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